Malic acid

Malic acid is a tart-tasting organic dicarboxylic acid that plays a role in many sour or tart foods.

Apples contain malic acid, which contributes to the sourness of a green apple. Malic acid can make a wine taste tart, although the amount decreases with increasing fruit ripeness.

Zest of one lemon* [or 3 tsp malic acid]

A few lemon peels will substitute for malic acid and a spoonful of strong tea will do replace tartaric acid. Hops are a common additive and will give the mead a bit of a bitterness to offset the sweetness of the honey. The more bizarre ingredient I have heard of was Szechuan peppers, use your imagination.

The use of acids citric, malic, tartaric, acid blend, or lemon juice has been recommended by many authors to balance any residual sweetness in the finished mead. We agree that some sweet /acid balance is desirable, but feel that it is optional. Furthermore, the addition of acids pre-fermentation can reduce the pH of the honey must, resulting in a sluggish fermentation. The pH of honey is already low, and since there is very little buffering capacity, when fermentation commences, the pH drops to a range at which the yeast slows. We will expand on this point in the following section. It has been our experience that addition of acid to a finished mead is a more reliable method to achieve the desired sweet/sour balance.

# Citric Acid. The is the most popular acid, it has a characteristic fruity taste. It is found in things like lemons and oranges, which is why these fruits are often included in older recipes. Citric acid also imparts brilliance to wine.
# Malic Acid. Found in things like apples. This acid is said to help speed fermentation. There also exists stuff called malolactic bacteria, this can be persuaded to start a small fermentation in bottled wine, where the malic acid is converted to less acid lactic acid in a process called malolactic fermentation. This is generally considered a good thing.
# Tartaric Acid. The predominate acid in grapes. Imparts a vinoius character to the wine, but is apt to crystalise out of the wine some time after bottling because it is rather unstable in solution. This can lead to a deposit in the bottom of a bottle of previously clear wine. This in turn gives an exallent excuse to muck about decanting the wine.